Mine-destroyer.



I. M. BITTER.

MlNE DESTROYER.

' APPLICATION FILED APR-27, I915.

1,174,026. Patented Feb. 29, 1916.

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OFFICE.

IBVIN M. BITTER, OF BITELEY, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-THIRD TO WILLIAM BITTER, OF BITELEY, MICHIGAN.

MINE-DESTROYER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 29, 1916.

Application filed April 27, 1915. Serial No. 24,246.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, IRYIN M. BITTER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Biteley, in the county of Newaygo and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mine-Destroyers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to improvements in mine destroyers.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of mine destroyers and to provide a simple, practical, and comparatively inexpensive device designed to be mounted on a ship and adapted to be operated by mechanism interiorly thereof to positively discharge a mine and destroy the same in advance of the vessel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mine destroyer adapted when the vessel reaches its port to be drawn in inwardly or rearwardly so as to project only a comparatively short distance in front of the bow of the boat so as not to be materially in the way in navigating the boat in rivers, harbors and the like.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of theinvention.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevationof a mine destroyer constructed in accordance with this invention and shown applied to a ship, the latter being in section, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, the hull of the vessel being shown in horizontal section.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawing.

In the accompanying drawing in which is illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, 1 designates a mine exploder or extractor designed to be located in ad- Vance of or ahead of the bow of a ship 2 as illustrated in the drawing and projecting below the bottom of the ship and adapted to engage and explode a mine 3 when the latter is in a position in the path of the vessel and would be otherwise exploded through contact with the same. The extractor or exploding device 1 is preferably approximately V-shaped and composed of rearwardly diverging sides or wings 4 so as to cut its way through the water and not impede the passage of the vessel to which the device is applied and also to form a plow or bow when drawn inwardly as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 2 of the drawing. The sides or wings are preferably tapered downwardly to a point 5 and the extractor or exploding device which may be constructed of any suitable material is mounted on the ends of a reciprocatory shaft or rod 6 extending through a tube 7 in the' bow of the vessel and connected at its inner or rear end by a suitable coupling 8 to a pitman 9 of a gasolene engine, 10. The tube 7 extends inwardly and outwardly at the bow of the vessel and is suitably mounted therein and in practice it will be equipped with suitable packing to provide a water tight connection between the reciprocatory rod or shaft and the bottom of the vessel. The gasolene motor ,is equipped with a crank wheel 11 having a wrist or crank pin 12 to which the pitman 9 is connected and the reciprocatory shaft or rod is preferably equipped with a slide 13 mounted in suitable guides or ways 14 which are adapted to obviate the necessity of employing a slidable cross head for connecting the inner end of the rod or shaft 6 with the pitman 9. Any suitable motor other than a gasolene engine may be employed if desired and when the engine is in operation the rod or it is unnecessary to employ the mine destroyer the ejector or exploding device may benmwn inwardly or rearwardly by uncoupling the reciprocatory rod or shaft from the pitman. The coupling 8 may be ofany desired construction to permit this operation. \Vhat is claimed is 1. In a mine destroyer the combination With a vessel of arod or member extending to the vessel or in an extended operative position and mechanism for reciprocating the rod or member while the exploding device or extractor is in an extended position.

2. In a mine destroyer the combination with a vessel, of a rod or shaft slidable through the bow of the vessel and projecting ahead of the same, an extractor or exploding device carried by the shaft or rod at the front or outer end thereof, a slide carried by the inner portion of the shaft or rod, guiding means for the slide, a motor or engine and a pitm-an connected with the inner end of the shaft or rod and actuated by the motor or engine.

3. In a mine destroyer the combination with a vessel of a reci rocatoryshaft or rod disposed longitudinal y of and extending through the bow'of the vessel, means carried by the front or outer end of the shaft or rod for exploding a mine, a motor engine, a pitman connected with the same and a coupling for detachab-ly connecting the ,pitman to the rod or shaft and adapted to. 7

permit the same to be drawn inwardly or rear'wardly to arrange the mine exploding 'means close to the bow of the vessel.

' IRVIN M. BITTER.

Witnesses WILLIAM BITTER, SELENA ELLIS. 

